Go or no-go? An assessment of inhibitory control training using the GO/NO-GO task in adolescents

Annelies Van Royen; Eva Van Malderen; Maurane Desmet; Lien Goossens; Sandra Verbeken; Eva Kemps

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2022.106303

Go or no-go? An assessment of inhibitory control training using the GO/NO-GO task in adolescents

Appetite. 2022 Dec 1:179:106303. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106303. Epub 2022 Sep 5.

Authors

Annelies Van Royen¹, Eva Van Malderen², Maurane Desmet², Lien Goossens², Sandra Verbeken², Eva Kemps³

Affiliations

¹ Ghent University, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Annelies.VanRoyen@UGent.be.
² Ghent University, Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
³ School of Psychology, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia.

PMID: 36067871
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106303

Abstract

Objective: Adolescence is a critical period for the onset of unhealthy eating habits. One important contributing factor is poor inhibitory control (IC), a cognitive skill that enables behavior regulation. IC training appears successful in countering unhealthy eating in adults, but evidence in adolescents is scarce. In addition, the mechanism of change from IC training remains unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess changes in IC during a single session of IC training in adolescents. The effectiveness of the training was assessed by comparing the experimental group to a matched control group.

Method: A community sample of 57 adolescents between 10 and 18 years was recruited (M_age = 16.61, SD_age = 2.52, 73.7% girls, M_adj.BMI = 105.17, SD_adj.BMI = 18.81). IC was assessed before, during, and after the training using a GO/NO-GO task. Indices of IC were commission errors (CE; incorrectly responding on a no-go trial) and reaction time (RT) on go trials.

Results: CE rates among adolescents who received the IC training were the highest during the training and decreased significantly after the training. However, there were no differences in CE before compared to after the training. No differences were found in RT before, during or after the training. In addition, compared to the control group, the experimental group showed no significant differences in either CE or RT before, during or after the training.

Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to assess changes in IC after an IC training in a community sample of adolescents. Results of this study further elucidate the complex role of IC in adolescents' unhealthy eating habits. Future studies should seek to corroborate these findings in a larger sample.

Keywords: Adolescents; Community sample; GO/NO-GO; Inhibitory control training; Mechanism of change.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Feeding Behavior* / psychology
Female
Humans
Inhibition, Psychological*
Male
Reaction Time